If you have manage permissions to a document, you can check out a document to forbid certain actions on the document. Only one user can check out a document at a time.

You can check out any document uploaded to Workfront as well as documents linked to third-party document providers (Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, Webdam, Workfront DAM, Widen, SharePoint, or any other custom provider).

Checking out documents is persistent in the Workfront system, which means that your documents stay checked out after logging out of Workfront.

The following options are dimmed for checked out documents, to let users know that these actions are forbidden while a document is checked out:

Delete the document.

Upload a new version to the document.

Send a document to a third-party provider.

Actions Allowed on Checked Out Documents

While a document is checked out, users with manage rights to the document can:

Edit the document (document name, description, custom data).

Move the document.

Share the document.

Preview the document.

Download the document.NOTE Although a user can download a document when it is checked out by another user, we recommend that users wait until the document has been checked back in before downloading it. When a document is checked out, it often indicates that work is still being done on the document. Waiting until a document is checked back in to download it ensures the user has the most recent version.

Approve a document or apply an approval to the document.

(Conditional) Proof the document. You can see proofing options for documents, only if the Workfront Proof component has been associated with your Workfront account. For more information about our proofing tool, see "Proofing Overview."

Checking Out a Document

If you have manage permissions to a document, you can check it out to forbid certain actions on the document.

You can check out any document uploaded to Workfront as well as documents linked to third-party document providers (Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, Webdam, Workfront DAM, Widen, SharePoint, or any other custom provider).

On the Documents tab or area, select the document you want to check out.

Mouse over the document name, and click Check Out to check the document out. You can also check out a document from the Details page of the document, using the Document Actions menu, as well as in the Check In/ Check Out section of the right panel.

The Check Out link changes into Check In for the user who checked the document out, and for any system administrator. A padlock icon is added to the right of the document name, to indicate that the document is checked out.In the Details tab of the document, in the Check In/ Check out section, you can see the name of the user who checked the document out, and the date and the time when they checked it out.Only the user who checked out the document or the system administrator can check the document in.For any other user, the Check Out link changes to Checked Out and is it dimmed.Users who did not check out the document or who are not system administrators cannot check the document in.

Managing Checked Out Documents

Deleting objects associated with checked out documents or deactivating users who currently have checked out documents in Workfront can affect the documents in the following ways:

When you have a checked-out document on another object and you attempt to delete the object, you are warned that a document is still checked out and the deletion cannot occur. You must check the document back in to be able to delete the object.

When you delete a user who checked out documents that they are not the owner of, the documents are automatically checked back in, before the user is deleted.

When you delete a user who checked out documents that they own and the documents are uploaded on an object, the documents remain checked out. Only a system administrator can check them back in.

When you delete a user who checked out documents that they own and the documents are uploaded in the Documents area of the Global Navigation Bar, the documents are deleted with the user. For more information about deleting users, see "Deleting Users."

When you deactivate a user, their checked-out documents remain checked out. Only a system administrator can check them back in.

On the Documents tab or area, select the document you'd like to check in.The document has a padlock icon to the right of the name, to identify it as a checked out document.

Mouse over the document name, and click Check In to check the document in. The document is now checked in, and the link has changed to Check Out. The padlock icon which indicated that the document was checked out has been removed.

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